Getting Off
by Spencersgirl27
Summary: What if someone could find a way to get Sonny off? Diane and Carly come up with a plan, a plan to frame someone else of Claudia's murder. Now they have to convince a few people including Sonny that it will work.


**A/N: Okay I'm not entirely sure that I want Sonny to get off for Claudia's murder but some part of me thinks that he needs to because it would give him and Dante more time to find a way to relate or even coexist. So I came up with a plan that I'm not entirely sure that would actually work in real life or even on the show. But here it is because I keep seeing the previews for the trial to come out. I don't own GH or the characters used here. Even the original idea didn't come from me it was actually brought forth on the show just how the plan should be executed. I leave it up to you to decide if you like it or not I only ask for the chance. Enjoy.**

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Diane looked at Carly not entirely sure that she could pull this plan off but had to put it out there. "So we need to convince Sonny that there is another way to do this" Diane started.

"Of course, but how do we do it while still keeping things off of Michael?" Carly half asked half stated while pacing behind Sonny's sofa. She had just gotten back from unsuccessfully trying to get Dante to lie and was still looking for a way to keep the family together.

"Stop pacing. I have a plan if we can get everyone on board. Let's blame it on the crazy artist, what's his name." Diane said nonchalantly.

"Franco, but that might bring him back." Carly whipped around looking at Diane like she was crazy to bring Franco into the equation.

"Yes and if he came back it would get handled. However if we can convince a jury that there's another possible suspect that was never looked at it throws a whole host of doubt out there. Maybe even enough to start the FBI or PCPD on Franco's trail and they'll get him before he gets here." Diane looked at Carly like don't you see the logic in this plan; kill two birds with one stone. "Of course convincing Sonny would be hard. I don't think I could do it."

"Let me give it a shot." Carly said it seemed like a decent plan, Franco was obsessed and it wasn't too far of a stretch.

"Give what a shot?" Sonny asked angry that these two wouldn't just let him take the blame for Claudia's death it would work everything out. He felt the need to pay for his recent indiscretion of shooting Dante and since he was no longer a suspect in that then this was the next best way to prove to his offspring that he knew he had done wrong.

"Well Diane told me something and I think it could work. Both protecting Michael and keeping you out of jail." Carly said getting up and crossing the room to Sonny.

"I told you both I'm doing this my way" Sonny yelled.

"Just listen. Then decide. You owe it to Michael, Morgan, and Kristina to listen. Hell it might even get you more time with Dante." Carly said, not thinking that a relationship was possible for Sonny and Dante, but knew that was something Sonny truly wanted and played the fact to her advantage. She kept going even though she was receiving a glaring look from Sonny "Diane thinks we should work it out so that we blame the entire thing on Franco."

"What?!" Sonny said looking around Carly at Diane like she was crazy to bring that mad man into the plan. If Jason was there Sonny knew he'd side with him there was no way that they were risking that mad man to come back here.

"Think about it Sonny" Diane said backing up Carly. "Two birds with one stone. Actually three. You're off the hook, they don't look at Michael, and Franco could become a viable suspect. We just have to spin the evidence right."

"No way, not going to work." Sonny said. He was thinking that it would put a strain on him and Dante. Dante would think that he wriggled his way out of another crime he committed, even though Claudia's death was not from Sonny's own hand.

"The hardest part would be the bloody shirt ashes they found." Diane said looking at Carly to see if she had an idea.

Carly thought for a minute. "Well first explain how I didn't see Franco kill Claudia to me and how Sam didn't see the body then maybe we'll come up with something."

"I said no." Sonny yelled at the room knowing he should just listen and then break apart their plan piece by piece.

"How about you just give Diane a chance to explain it to me and then we see if there are holes." Carly said. She knew if Diane's plan looked bad she wouldn't let Sonny do it. This was their last chance if it ended up that this didn't work then Sonny would need to run and she didn't know if she could actually make him go no matter what he had promised.

"Hmm let's see. Ok so we have to take back your statement that Claudia wasn't there. We'll say she came in after the baby was born, you were already weak from whatever condition you have possibly loosing consciousness, so you don't really remember it just thought it was a nightmare. But she got Jocelyn and was walking outside when she was killed by Franco. Still in and out of consciousness he returns the baby and says something."

"It would have to be something about Jason and choosing….Like it wasn't time because he couldn't make Jason choose yet. But how did Sam not see the body outside." Carly asked. The first part seemed like Franco he had been so obsessed with getting that game right. "Wait why did I not remember this before?"

"Ok traumatic experience people block out lots of things, maybe you could be having nightmares now thinking he was coming back for Josslyn or for you. Brought on by something in your life…."

"The DVD." Carly whispered.

"What DVD?" Sonny asked making both women jump because they had gotten so engrossed they had forgotten that he was there.

Carly sighed Jason must not have told Sonny "Franco sent a DVD to Josslyn's christening. It looked like a present, I thought it was photos. Morgan and Molly got impatient and took the DVD and played it. On it Franco was talking about something. Jason made them turn it off."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Sonny asked concerned that Franco might target one of the kids.

"Didn't have much time since Dante was shot that day and then this whole mess with the trial." Carly replied making excuses, truth was she didn't think of it Jason knew and he would take care of it.

Interrupting Diane decided to get the whole conversation on track. "It makes the whole thing more believable. Do you still have the DVD maybe we can use it, depending on what's on it?" Diane said thinking if Franco made any reference to the murder then she'd just have Carly say she got rid of the DVD not wanting it in her house.

"Umm Jason has it. But what if there's something on it about the murder, implicating Michael or Sonny."

"Then we'll just say you got rid of it due to the nightmares not wanting to have it in your house." Diane told Carly "Back to our other issues then Sam didn't notice because Claudia had been put in a corner and she was too focused on you getting to the hospital. She barely remembered to called Jason who called Sonny; we have to keep that part because there are too many people that will say Sonny got a call that night."

"Hmmm" Carly got up and paced the floor it came to her. "Ok so Sonny not really thinking goes up to the cabin thinking that he can get there before I leave and take me to the hospital himself. He gets to the cabin and no one is there. He sees a blood pool and touches it wipes his hand on his shirt. He goes home to change and then rushes to the hospital thinking I'm more hurt than was said."

"Ok but why doesn't he see the body."

"Franco took it." Sonny said. He couldn't help it their plan was good. "I need to have seen that graffiti he does somewhere in the cabin though. It would be circumstantial because there's no proof. But it would eventually in my mind click that Franco had taken Claudia and she was dead. "

Dianne thinks it over. "Somewhere on the wood that was burnt would be a good place the piece could have burned totally up because the paint would be an accelerant of sorts. Wait why would Franco burn the place down?"

Carly almost swears it's such a big hole. Wait it comes to her. "Why wouldn't he? It's the perfect part to his game to have Jason choosing between people who have a connection to him. Franco is framing Sonny to get at Jason. So he burns down any proof that could have exonerated Sonny."

"Oooh I like it cause since the body was found in the warehouse where Lulu was held and we all know that was Franco it couldn't be better. He was holding the body until he could use it to get to Sonny; it was like just deserts since he had gotten Jason to choose. When the body was found it was obvious she had been dead for a while. But who says that it had to be at the cabin maybe she just bled there and was alive when Franco took her, unconscious but alive. Then he kills her because she's not valuable to him but has seen his face and might tell her brother who would tell Jason that there's a guy playing games with him." Diane said evilly.

"But how do we prove that it was Franco that put the body in the warehouse or that he killed her there?" Carly asked.

"We don't we just have to put the idea out there, create reasonable doubt. It would be the Prosecutors place when they are persecuting Franco instead of Sonny. We just have to show there is no link between that particular warehouse and Sonny but there is the definite link between Franco and the warehouse. There is already proof that the body was found there and that Claudia had been dead for awhile. Do you think Lulu would testify that it was Franco that took her to the warehouse? She didn't have to see the body; she was too worried about her own situation." Diane said.

"Well I'm sure she'd tell the truth and if you stuck to those questions she wouldn't vary on anything but what if the prosecution asks her about anything including Dante's shooting?" Carly asked getting nervous she knew that her cousin wouldn't lie under oath but it was a risky plan to put her on the stand anything could get out.

"Okay so last resort. I can always ask Dante if about the situation he was the one who pulled her out of the warehouse. It was obvious to all parties that Franco had taken the girl. Sam can also verify that Franco said he was the one who took her and Lulu. Plus it was where Claudia's body was found. If it looks like we are losing faith I'll have to put her on the stand to show that Franco took her there after he took Sam and he took you."

"Why not put it out there that maybe Claudia was part of the original Franco plan to make Jason choose. He may not have known that I had ousted my wife and thought that I would make Jason save her instead of his other captive." Sonny said contributing to the conversation.

Carly was so happy that he seemed to be on board with this new plan. "Should we mention that Sonny wasn't entirely happy with his wife?"

"Probably not the best idea but we could say that the reason he had not taken you at the cabin was because the plan was blown. He couldn't take both you and Claudia which would tear Jason between his loyalty for his boss and his friendship with you. So he took Claudia hoping to make him choose between her and Sam, then found out that Claudia wasn't as important as he thought." Diane said picking apart what had been put together in such a small amount of time in order to see the holes. There were definitely some complications but if they got a sympathetic jury that saw that this psychotic artist was trying to tear this family apart it would cause enough reasonable doubt.

"It does keep the cops off Michael." Carly started. "Dante doesn't have to compromise himself for you, it could just be that everyone at the PCPD and FBI were so adamant that you had killed Claudia they didn't look any further."

"So the only thing left is to…" Sonny started to agree but was interrupted by his enforcer coming in.

"Sonny we need to talk." Jason said hoping that he could convince Sonny to run there wasn't any way that this could be resolved. He had already tried to talk to Dominic.

"Jase, do you still have the DVD that Franco sent." Carly asked ignoring the glare she was receiving from her best friend.

"Yeah but that's not as important as what I have to say to Sonny."

"Actually I need it." Diane said. "We've come up with a pretty good plan to show that Sonny had nothing to do with Claudia's murder."

"How? What? How?" Jason couldn't wrap his mind around the whole situation.

"You think you could call Sam first I think that I could only explain it once." Carly said.

"Okay but…"

"Jason" Sonny said giving the man a look like don't question it just do it so you get answers faster.

Several minutes after he had called Sam she arrived breathless. "What's going on? Jason said to hurry." Sam asked looking at the group of people gathered in the room.

"Well we need to work on your statement." Diane said

"Ok what do I need to say?" Sam asked knowing that there was something that she wasn't being let in on.

"Well," Carly started knowing that she probably wouldn't remember all the details. "We've come up with a plan to get Sonny to plead not guilty and blame it on Franco."

Fear filled Sam and Jason's eyes. "No" Jason said. "It would bring him back to Port Charles."

"Jase, you can handle it if he does. You'll protect Sam." Carly started. "Sam I know that you don't want him to come back but there's a chance if we present this in a certain way then both the FBI and PCPD will be on Franco so he'll never get here."

"Explain" Sam said not truly trusting herself to say more.

Diane took it upon herself to explain the plan that they had come up with. "So you see most of your statement won't change. You found Carly and the baby by themselves but Carly had been unconscious, you had to shake her awake. Also maybe if I ask you if Franco said anything about his plans something about how he was unlucky the first time he made Jason choose and now he would finally get his chance to witness it." Diane finished putting the twist in there because it seemed to seal the deal that Franco wanted to get to Jason through another source.

"You really think it would work?" Sam asked trying to see holes in this plan.

"No you're not doing this." Jason said seeing how angry Franco would be at both women to say that he was behind Claudia's murder. "Franco would come after both of you if word got out. Word would get out it would be front page news. FBI lets murder go free to frame local crime lord would be a likely headline."

"Jason, we'd protect them." Sonny said.

"I'll do it" Sam said, she understood Jason's reservations but it seemed solid enough to put reasonable doubt out there. She'd make him understand later and convince him it was the right thing to do.

"Sam…" Jason started.

"We'll talk later." She said, turning to Diane. "So when do you want to meet again to rehearse the testimony."

"Tomorrow I'll bring you and Carly into the office and we'll go over it together so that you see how to overlap your stories. That will give me time to review the DVD and decide if we want to use it." Diane said looking at Jason.

"I'll get you the DVD this afternoon." Jason replied with absolutely no emotion showing on his face. He was absolutely furious that Sam had agreed but besides the mess with Franco he could see how the plan could keep his boss out of jail.

"So we'll plead not guilty and try and show that Franco was the one who killed Claudia?" Diane asked turning to Sonny who had been quietly sitting in his chair.

It was a good plan maybe he could even convince Dante to forgive him eventually since he wouldn't be in jail and could visit his son rather than wait for a visit he was sure would never come. "Yeah we can do this." Sonny said giving in to the whole situation, but at least it still protected Michael.

Carly jumped up and went to hug Sonny finally they had a way to possibly keep him out of jail and protect Michael. Now she just had to pray that it worked.

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**A/N: Okay so I don't see myself continuing this but I'm not sure so I left it open. If you remember correctly that Sonny had originally wanted to frame Franco for Claudia's murder. I just found a way that it seems to work. Feel free to poke holes in my theories I may write more to tell you how they could overcome those obsticles also. I'm not trying to prove him innocent we already know that he physically didn't kill Claudia regardless of whether his brutal behavior towards her at the party started the chain of events that lead to her dying. My mission here was to put enough reasonable doubt while not casting the suspicion on to Michael which is what Sonny and Carly both want. **

**I had to put this out there because I'm not entirely sure that it will fit with my other story that I am working on. If it does I will end up referencing what I have written here in that story. I needed to get it off my mind and on paper so it wasn't leading my other story to make it fit. **


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